micro mills
 

I want to buy one for like 400 bucks. Im not trying to make car parts or anything, just little hobby ---- out of alumnium and i think it would be cool to have.

http://cgi.ebay.com/MICRO-MILL-COMBO...QQcmdZViewItem

are those good units or should i look for something else? anyone have a micro mill or micro lathe?

Re: micro mills
 

I think the picture is deseving. That thing is tiny. Only 13” tall and weighs 15 pounds
I think I would look for something along these lines. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=44991
Just hit google for harbor freight mini mill and you will find more info than you will want, I have been fighting the urge to get the HF model every time I am in the store. Not sure what I would do with it, but I’m sure I could use it. lol

Later
Randy

Re: micro mills
 

It doesnt seem to list anything about warranty etc.It looks like a decent unit for what it is intended to do and the price.I would ask him about what ki8nda of warranty it comes with,where it has to go for warranty service work and are repair parts available in the US.You can always find used equipment at auctions and shops that are closing/upgrading if you have the room for larger equipment.

edit- Go with the harbour freight above that is a great price and if there is warranty repair needed there store is not to far away.

Re: micro mills
 

I was going to buy a mini mill to cut water blocks for computer water cooling set ups. Got out of overclocking though. The HF unit doesn't look half bad.

Re: micro mills
 

I've always thought about getting one of tose they look cool as hell

Re: micro mills
 

Ill check that HF unit out. it seems allot better.

Re: micro mills
 

i had a grizzly mini mill which is that smae thing as the HF one and they arent worth it.

Re: micro mills
 

More detail. What kind of work were tryin to do?


If I could afford a bridgeport I would but ya there pricey

Re: micro mills
 

A lot of the micromachines are just that - tiny.

One of the asian 7X12 mini lathes can knock out some decently sized (still small) stuff, and can be had in the $400-500 range. A little bit of searching around will shed some light, there are a couple places that do a nice comparo of the different models. FYI, I'd avoid the 7X10 asian mini lathes, as they are more like 4" less swing over the bed than the 7X12 units... it gets real restrictive real fast.

As far as the mini-mills, pffft, for the small stuff you can fudge alright results with a cheap drill press and a compound slide. You just have to go slow, as the spindle on those isn't designed for a lot of lateral loading.


silentdaredevil2 is as right as he is wrong... the mini machines (note mini, meaning larger than micro) are definitely NOT large machines that are designed to knock out some work. If you are used to a real mill or lathe one of the cheap mini's will just annoy you. But, for a hobbyist willing to fiddle around and take shallow cuts, you can turn out solid work with them.

Re: micro mills
 

Oh, yeah, by the same seller... this looks interesting:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=4433771923

Too bad the fact it's tiny limits the size stuff you can cut with it - I'm thinking about lexan windows here.

Honestly, it shouldn't be hard to DIY a hotwire machine for cutting plastics... nickel chromium 8020 wire in .008" gauge, and run 10V at 1 amp across it, with a knob to fine trim wire temp. Sounds easy, just incorporate it into an old drafting table, with a BIG arm, and feed sheets of whatever to it.